GOALKEEPERS:

David de Gea (£5.5m) - selected by 26.1% of bosses

Despite finishing as the fourth-most productive goalkeeper last season, the most popular shot-stopper at this point is United's David de Gea.

David de Gea is the most popular goalkeeper on FPL right now (Image: Getty Images)

At £5.5m he is the joint-most expensive asset in this position, sharing his price with Arsenal's Petr Cech, Chelsea's Thibaut Courtois, Manchester City's Ederson and Hugo Lloris of Tottenham Hotspur.

While there are plenty of other options just as likely to do well this season as de Gea, I reckon his popularity stems from his reputation as an unbelievable shot stopper as well as the Red Devils' kind early run of fixtures (WHU/swa/LEI/sto/EVE).

Ben Foster (£4.5m) - selected by 20.9% of bosses

It would appear that Ben Foster has been already been identified as the budget-man between the sticks this season.

With Tom Heaton swooping more FPL points than any other goalkeeper in 2016/17, some managers have realised they need to find someone new to be their substitute custodian.

Ben Foster is proving to be the popular budget choice on FPL so far (Image: Getty Images)

With West Bromwich Albion - a typically defensive resolute side under Tony Pulis - enjoying kind early fixtures too (BOU/bur/STO/bri/WHU) it's no wonder that Foster is popular.

He made 115 saves last season - only four goalkeepers made more - so could be in for some bonus points too.

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MIDFIELDERS

Dele Alli (£9.5) - selected by 38.2% of bosses

This Tottenham man is the most popular midfielder so far which is actually not much of a surprise.

The only midfielder option to get more points than Alli in 2016/17 was Alexis Sanchez but his price-tag of £12.0m has forced him down the charts.

Dele Alli is the most popular FPL midfielder so far (Image: Getty Images)

Eden Hazard was just one point behind Alli's tally from last season (224) but has recently had surgery for an ankle fracture - he is therefore not a popular option right now at £10.5m.

Even though Alli's team-mate Christian Eriksen finished last strongly, bringing in a personal best 218 points, and is also priced at the same level, he has over 25% less owners right now... Interesting indeed!

Philippe Coutinho (£9.0) - selected by 30.7% of bosses

Despite missing a portion of last season to injury, Philippe Coutinho is back near the top end of popularity this time around.

Admittedly, pulling in 171 points in 2016/17 was impressive for Coutinho given how much he missed of the campaign.

Priced at £9.0m in 2017/18 he may not be cheap but he is still less dear than the likes of Sanchez, Hazard and Kevin De Bruyne.

Wilfried Zaha (£7.0) - selected by 20.5% of bosses

This year's budget midfield man looks to be Wilfired Zaha who has also earned a price rise for the new season.

His 149-point haul was a personal best for the wide-man after he scored 11 goals and assisted 11 more.

That took his price of £5.8m in May to £7.0m for the start of August.

And that has not put many off the former United man who already has a 20.5% share of ownership.

Who is unpopular when they shouldn't be?

Having gone through the early trends of the transfer market, we've certainly noticed some players getting more interest than either their price or output is deserving of.

The key to Fantasy Premier League is often to find the options which have the best balance between the two to ensure maximum efficiency.

So we've picked out three players who could potentially hand you differential points and extra cash in 2017/18.

Charlie Taylor (£4.5m): che/WBA/tot/CPA/liv/HUD

Burnley's new signing has slipped under the radar a little bit.

Charlie Taylor has been one of the best young English left-backs of recent years in the Championship with Leeds and has been deserving of a Premier League call-up for some time.

Both a solid defender and decent supplier of a cross, Taylor is more than capable of playing in midfield too.

If he follows through on the promise he's shown so far in his career - and occasionally plays higher up the pitch - then he could prove a shrewd FPL option.

Burnley showed they were quite solid at home in 2016/17 and you'd expect that to continue this year so rotating Taylor in and out could be a useful strategy.

Tammy Abraham (£5.5m): sou/MNU/cpa/NEW/tot

Swansea City forward Tammy Abraham (currently on loan from Chelsea) is another player who is definitely under the radar right now.

Last season he scored 23 goals in 41 games for Bristol City and was introduced himself as one of the most exciting young talents in this country.

Also bagging for England at the Euro Under-21s Championship, he could be dangerous for Swansea this season - although that may depend on what happens to first-choice striker Fernando Llorente who has been linked with a move away.

Either way, if Abraham replicates the kind of form he showed at Bristol in the Premier League this season then he's an absolute steal at £5.5m.

Michy Batshuayi (8.5m): BUR/tot/EVE/lei/ARS/sto

Michy Batshuayi might seem an odd inclusion to have on this list but considering he currently has just 1.7% of owners wrapped up this season, you've got to argue he's less popular than he should be right now.

Diego Costa looks set to leave Chelsea and the Blues have already missed out on their top replacement candidate for him this summer in Romelu Lukaku.

With a host of Antonio Conte's other transfer targets no closer to securing a move to Stamford Bridge, it is entirely possible that the Italian manager will have to look amongst his current players for goals in 2017/18.

And in Batshuayi he certainly has a prolific goal scorer.

Despite playing a total of just 128 minutes of football in Chelsea's last three Premier League games of the season, the Belgian forward scored four times and also won the title for Chelsea too.

Just imagine what he could do if he was handed the starting berth on a regular basis.